Nevada County 



BEGINNING with an altitude of about one thousand feet along its 

 western boundary, Nevada County rises to the eastward through the 

 foothill region of its middle portion to the major heights of the Sierra 

 Nevada plateau in the east, where the altitudes are frequently as 

 much as eight thousand feet. This topographical variety carries 

 with it equally diverse industrial possibilities. While the county is first of 

 all a gold-mining area, its western half, made up of a pleasing succession 

 of small valleys, wooded hills, and rolling uplands, is well adapted to 

 orchards and vineyards, grazing and general agriculture. The variety in 

 soil, the differences of temperature, and the accessibility of the region are 

 all encouragements to fruit and vineyard culture that are proving valuable 

 and profitable enterprises. 



The rainfall of the county varies with the elevation, the average annual 

 precipitation being about fifty inches. With this supply of moisture the 

 failure of crops is out of the question. The mountain snows comprise a 

 natural storage, furnishing an adequate supply of water for the canals and 

 reservoirs needed for either mining or irrigation. The latter is steadily 

 coming into a more extensive use of clover and grass lands and for 

 orchards. Nevertheless the soil of Nevada County, with proper cultivation, 

 is capable of producing cereals and fruits without the aid of irrigation. 

 Wherever irrigation has been used, crops of every character have been 

 raised In remarkable abundance. There is plenty of water stored in arti- 

 ficial reservoirs along the summit of the Sierras. Originally these artificial 

 lakes and expensive ditches were constructed to supply hydraulic mines. 



The extreme western portion of the county lies in the thermal belt of 

 interior California, and citrus fruits grow to perfection, as also the olive 

 and other sub-tropical fruits. Through the central portion, at an altitude 

 of twenty-five hundred feet, the deciduous orchard fruits reach their best 

 development and flavor. The abundant rainfall is especially propitious 

 for the growth of the Bartlett pear, which here reaches perfection. All 

 the fruits of the temperate latitudes find congenial conditions in these 

 middle altitudes. Apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, and nuts 

 are the principal products, while the olive, fig, prune, and all kinds of ber- 

 ries do well also. 



In Nevada County are the largest hydraulic mines in the world, and a 

 number of big forty-stamp quartz-mills. In the beginning of CalilFornia's 

 history the mines furnished the first market for the lumber of these moun- 

 tains, which are even now thick with a virgin growth of sugar and yellow 

 pine, fir, spruce, and cedar. The lumber centers are Nevada City, Grass 

 Valley, and Truckee. At present Truckee leads in the lumber industry, 

 where large sawmills and door, sash, and box factories are located. The 

 town of Overton has one of the largest box factories and sawmills in the 

 State, and has railroad connections with Truckee. 



The high alpine zone of the Sierras is ideal as a pasturage country, and 

 much stock is run in the summer, with fine dairy butter as a special product. 



The county is abundantly supplied with electric power from the great 

 plant of the Bay Counties Power Company, located on the Middle Yuba 

 River, the dividing line between Nevada and Yuba counties. The Truckee 

 General Electric Company, in this county, supplies the mines of Virginia 

 City with power. The paper-mill at Floriston, on the Truckee River, is 

 with one exception the largest in the United States. The pulp used is 

 manufactured from the timber of the vicinity. 



Besides its excellent system of public schools, Nevada County has 

 several private institutions of high standing. The principal towns are Grass 

 Valley, Nevada City, and Truckee. Nevada City is the county seat, and 

 Grass Valley is the largest mining center in California. The two are con- 

 nected by electric interurban railway. 



